Chapter 3
Outside Qingzhou ran the Cang River, its current swift.
That day it washed a man downstream, straight into the net Old Zhou had set to catch fish.
Old Zhou opened his net and found a man neatly caught inside, gripping a sword. Eight chi tall, handsome, with a little mole beneath his lashes and another on his palm.
Well! Wasn’t this the Xu girl’s beloved? True, the dark green sword tassel was missing, but in such a strong current, that was perfectly understandable.
So they carried him to the Xu residence.
When I first invented my beloved, Father had worried the story might not spread far enough. He had even quietly paid local traders to pass it around.
Now it had spread very far indeed. Every auntie, family friend, and honorary uncle who heard that my beloved had finally been found contrived to come and watch.
The tea was changed three times. Three bowls of ginseng broth were fed to the patient. Nobody left.
Half of Qingzhou had squeezed into our modest household.
Father looked as though his soul had wandered away.
I looked as though mine was dead.
We stared at each other. His mouth could have held an egg. Mine hung open too, refusing to close.
He blinked: What do we do?
I blinked back: We’re done for.
What Father didn’t know was that I recognized the man on the couch.
His name was Gu Huai, courtesy name Changfeng. He was twenty-five and came from Jiangling.
Beyond the imperial court lay the world of martial artists.
And in that world, Ten Thousand Swords Manor reigned supreme.
This man was the famed manor’s young heir.
It was said that at seventeen he had placed third in the imperial examinations. Yet after that triumph he had refused office, presenting his resignation in the throne hall and infuriating the emperor.
Ten Thousand Swords Manor was powerful. Angry as the emperor was, there was nothing he could do but let Gu Huai sweep out.
How I knew him, and knew so much about him, was a long story.
When I had lived in the capital as a Shen wife, I had been friendly with the Princess Royal.
Her Highness sought handsome men throughout the land. Whenever she couldn’t have one, she settled for a close resemblance and doted on the substitute. Her residence housed countless male favorites. The most favored was a certain Li Changfeng.
Since he belonged to Her Highness, it wouldn’t have been proper for me to look too often or too closely. I remembered only layer upon layer of crimson curtains and the young man’s dark hair tied high, a length of intricately patterned dark green silk fluttering from it.
The princess caught the dancing ribbon, twined it affectionately around her wrist, and tipped her head back to drink the sweet wine Li Changfeng held to her lips.
She seemed exceedingly fond of him. Yet once he had left, she said to me wistfully, “The likeness is only in the shape, never the spirit. In the skin, not the bones. If only Master Gu were here.”
The scene had been so voluptuous that it stayed with me for a long time.
And the dark green ribbon in Li Changfeng’s hair had been exactly like the one this man wore.
Clearly, Li Changfeng was his substitute.
Who could have guessed the coincidence would go so far? He actually had a mole beneath his lashes and another on his palm.
So I knew Gu Huai, but Gu Huai didn’t know me.
That worried me. What sort of temper did the heir to Ten Thousand Swords Manor have? If he discovered he’d somehow become my beloved, would he cut me down?
But all our neighbors were watching, and Father’s reputation for honesty, built over years in business, was at stake.
I could only fling myself onto Gu Huai and let out a loud, deeply devoted wail.
“My savior! How can I live if you die? If you won’t wake, Miaomiao can only follow you! On the road to the underworld, I’ll pledge myself to you. May we be husband and wife in our next life!”
Then, before everyone’s eyes, the unconscious man with the paper-white face coughed twice and slowly opened his eyes.
Gu Changfeng probably hadn’t expected to wake at the center of such universal attention.
He glanced around, then slowly lowered his gaze to the head burrowing against his chest.
“Who are you?” he asked.
I wiped away the fresh tears I had squeezed out. “My savior, don’t you remember Miaomiao?”
“No.”
I burst into tears.
“Oh no! He’s lost his memory!”
Sniffling, I discreetly pressed harder against his chest.
“Fenglin Ferry, outside the Black Wind Inn. My savior, that’s where we met.”
Gu Changfeng fell silent for a moment. Perhaps he gave it some serious thought. Naturally, he could not remember something that had never happened.
His expression began to grow impatient.
“Get off m—”
He was about to lose his temper, and half of Qingzhou was there. I weighed the consequences, shut my eyes, and lunged forward to stop his mouth with mine.
A collective gasp rose around us.
Father chose that moment to shout everyone out.
“Do not look upon impropriety, do not listen to impropriety! Neighbors, please make way! Give my daughter and her savior a little time alone. Make way, make way…”
I secretly opened my eyes. Gu Changfeng’s face bore a perfectly clear message.
I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!
How wicked of me. How very wicked.
I closed my eyes and kissed him more deeply.
When I opened them again, his expression was vacant.
Overwhelmed by rage, he had fainted.